No Matter What They Tell Us
by Denaliyasha
Summary: Yu Yu Hakusho InuYasha crossover. Yusuke blows up their school, so the team is staying with Kagome while going to her school. Hmmm... how does InuYasha react to two male demons in her house? And then comes Koenma...
1. What Do You Mean I Can't Kill Him?

No Matter What They Tell Us 

Disclaimer: I own none of them. If I did, Kurama would be Youko all the time. And Hiei and Kurama would be together. 'Nuff said.

A/N: Yes, it's another InuYasha/Yu Yu Hakusho fic… Well, I hope this one's original. Anyhow, I have a quick bone to pick with people. This will probably contain some moments of Hiei/Kurama. However, that is NOT the reason this fiction is rated PG-13. It really bugs me that people can't think of guy/guy and girl/girl couples the same way as they do guy/girl couples. I'm straight, and it still pisses me off. Major dittos to Angelofheart2.0 for putting a cute H/K poem as G. I salute you! Anyhow, this fic will contain Youko Kurama (yummmm….) and lots of cute, fluffy, waffy moments. Please, review when you're done.

Chapter One: What Do You Mean I Can't Kill Him?

'Well, it's about time.' Kagome Higurashi aged 15, climbed out of the well at her shrine. Her mental comment was concerning the fact that InuYasha, the oh-so-obnoxious love of her life (kinda sad, really), had finally let her come home for school. Swinging her heavy backpack up onto the floor, she hoisted herself out of the deep well and hurried through the rain into her house.

"Mom! Grandpa! Souta! Hello?" Kagome spotted a note on the kitchen counter.

_Dear Kagome,_

_We've on a trip to Kyoto. We'll probably be there for a while. There are some shrines your grandfather wants to visit. Don't expect us back before the 15th. _

_Love, Mom_

Kagome looked up at the calendar. It was the 5th. Great. 10 days alone. Luckily for Kagome, who was so tired she was about to collapse, it was Saturday night. That meant no getting up early the next morning. She'd told InuYasha she wouldn't be back for a few weeks, so she didn't have to hurry or worry too much about excuses for her absence.

Dragging her bag slowly behind her, Kagome climbed the stairs to her bedroom and fell face first onto her bed. She was out like a light the moment she hit the bed.

The next morning, Kagome woke to the sounds of birds singing outside her window. "What a cliché morning. This is going to be one of those days," Kagome muttered as she changed into a pair of blue jeans and a T-shirt. There was nothing to do on a Sunday. She poured herself from cereal (A/N: I don't know what they eat so all food is going to be what I'd eat) and tried to decide what to do.

"Well, let's see. I could study, or I could practice archery… Who am I kidding. Archery." Kagome picked up the bow and quiver she'd brought back with her from the feudal era and headed out to the God Tree. A target was set up in front of the trunk, and Kagome began firing arrow after arrow into it. Each time she released an arrow, it glowed pink briefly with her growing miko powers.

"Excuse me? Is this the Higurashi shrine?" A nice, alto male voice snapped Kagome out of her concentration. Feeling the distinct tingle to her miko senses that meant demon, she spun around.

She'd just notched an arrow on the string, and the tip started to grow a bright pink color as it hovered a centimeter from the boy's throat. "You can't have it."

She looked up into the startled face of the demon. He looked human, with bright orange-red hair and bright green eyes. His features were oddly feminine, and it didn't help that he was wearing pink. His clothing SHOULD have clashed with his hair, but it didn't. He felt like Shippo a bit, so Kagome assumed he was a kitsune. "Excuse me?"

"I said, you can't have it. Leave me alone." Kagome was growling now, ready to release the arrow and kill this demon who dared bother her at her home.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you…" Another voice came out of the trees. Kagome fired off her arrow at him without thinking. A short person with gravity-defying black hair fell out of the tree, her arrow in his leg. He landed on his feet, pulled out the arrow, and was suddenly standing right next to the first boy.

The boy in pink looked slightly startled. "You hit Hiei. Congratulations. I think you might be the first in over 400 years. You are the priestess, correct?"

Kagome looked at the two of them, standing there in front of her, and figured that if they were after her jewel shards they'd be attacking her by now. "I'm Higurashi Kagome. And you are?"

The red haired boy bowed. "Forgive me. My name is Suichii, but you may call me Kurama. This is my friend Hiei. We came looking for the Higurashi family. There was an… accident at our school, and your mother volunteered to house seven of us, as we will be going to your school for the next several weeks."

"Are all the rest of you demons?" Kagome deadpanned. She hoped that InuYasha wouldn't choose to come back through the well to collect her early. She wasn't sure that he'd like a strange male demon staying in her house… and two would make him pissed for sure.

Kurama thought, then said, "Well, only one of them is but one is also the grim reaper…" To his surprise Kagome just laughed.

"Really? I've always wanted to meet the grim reaper. I'm guessing the scythe thing is exaggerated?"

"Y-yes… she has no weapon and she rides an oar. Oh, yeah, and she's perpetually hyper." Kurama wondered what this girl did that had her so jaded towards demons and the like.

"Hmmm…" Kagome thought for a bit. Well, if her family was gone that sort of solved the sleeping arrangements… As uncomfortable as she was with all these demons in her house, she figured that they seemed nice enough. Just one thing, though. "Hey, Kurama?"

He tilted his head. "Yes?"

"Would you mind me… probing you a bit?" She flushed, not sure how to explain it. Kaede had just explained it to her. She could test a demon's type and power with her own miko powers. Luckily for her, Kurama seemed to understand.

"Yes, of course you may. And I'm sure Hiei, Yukina, and Boton wouldn't mind either… would you, Hiei?" Kurama's smile took on a slightly sadistic edge as he turned to look at his friend.

"Hn." Hiei pointedly looked away.

"That's a yes!" Kurama smiled broadly at Kagome. She had the feeling that it wasn't, that Hiei really didn't want her to, but she didn't say anything. "Why don't we wait for the others to come, first? That way you can just do it all at once."

"Oh, thank you. That makes sense." Kagome smiled. "Why don't you call everyone else and I'll get you guys settled in?"

Within thirty minutes, there were seven people standing in her living room with bags. She clapped her hands cheerfully and set about assigning rooms. "Ok. Keiko will be sharing my room with me. Yukina and Boton, you'll be in the guest room… the third room on the right upstairs. Yusuke, you and Kuwabara will be sleeping in my brother's room until he gets home, then you'll be in the living room. Kurama, you and Hiei get to sleep in the shrine house. It's got pallets and everything, my grandpa still thinks that we'll get pilgrims at some point. Everyone clear? Ok. Go to." Everyone headed off to their respected rooms to unpack.

A/N: Yay! One chapter done! Next time: What happens when they're all probed? Something surprising… that's what. And yes, I know, I should be working on All's Fair in Love and War, but I got hit with the muse. The other one-shot I've posted is from a while ago, just couldn't figure out how to end it. And yes, I'm also starting another long story. That will be three big ones and one that I work on as stress relief. Review!


	2. Just Looking For Ramen

No Matter What They Tell Us 

Disclaimer: I don't own. Please don't sue me.

A/N: Ok, so, I haven't gotten any reviews on chapter one, but it's been up for all of three hours, so that's to be expected. However! I already knew what was going to happen in this chapter, so I'm writing it anyway. I don't write when I get lots of reviews, I write when my little muse (a vicious eagle named Fluffy) bites me and makes me hurry up. Also, I think I've changed the spelling of Keiko's name from Kaiko to Keiko. My computer spell check doesn't like Kaiko, but it's fine with Keiko, so I'm using Keiko. So, here you go. Chapter Two of No Matter What They Tell Us! Enjoy!

Chapter Two: Just Looking For Ramen…

It took the seven teenagers very little time to unpack. Keiko explained to Kagome that they were allowed to wear their own school's uniforms because they were only going to be at her school for a few weeks.

"So, Keiko, what happened to your school? Kurama said an accident…" Kagome was helping Keiko set up a futon next to her bed.

Keiko blushed, although she looked more angry than embarrassed. "Well, this demon tried to take over our school, looking for Yusuke, and Yusuke blew it up… but he kinda blew up a wing of the school? So… yeah. They have to rebuild it."

Kagome, by this time, was on the floor laughing. "That sounds… so much… like… InuYasha," she gasped out. Keiko looked confused.

"InuYasha?"

"Errr… just a friend of mine." Kagome sweat dropped as Keiko looked at her oddly. As much as she liked this girl, she wasn't ready to explain about the well. To distract her, Kagome asked, "So, what's up with you and Yusuke?"

Keiko blushed again, then looked mad. "He's such a jerk. He can be so sweet sometimes but then he says something totally stupid and ruins the moment. I mean, sometimes I want to hate him but I can't, because I love him." She was sitting on her bed now, eyes watery. Kagome sat down next to her and slung an arm around her shoulders.

"That sounds like InuYasha. Just be glad that he isn't still in love with a dead girlfriend who's been reanimated that wants to take him to hell…"

"What?"

"Don't ask, long story. Believe me. It could be worse." Kagome smiled. "Want some ice cream?"

Keiko laughed. "Sure."

The girls trooped down the stairs (after collecting Boton and Yukina, cause what girl passes up free ice cream?) and Kagome led them all to the kitchen. "Ok, vanilla or chocolate?" After dishing out ice cream, the girls retired back to Kagome's room and locked the door.

Boton smiled evilly. "Ok. Time to play 20 questions. When it's your turn, you get to ask one other person a question. They have to answer it honestly… but remember. You have to answer whatever's asked of you. Yukina, you first."

Yukina blinked a few times, thinking hard. "Ok. Keiko. Do you love Yusuke?"

Keiko blushed hard. "Yes…" She shook her head. "My turn. Kagome, who is InuYasha?"

Kagome gulped. "Well, none of this is going to leave the room, right?" The other girls all nodded ferverently. "Ok, then. InuYasha is a half dog demon who lives in the Feudal Era." Before Boton could ask about how she knew him, then, Kagome cut her off. "My turn. This is for everyone. Who thinks that Hiei and Kurama are both gay and should seriously end up with each other?" All four people raised their hands, laughing.

The questioning went on until dinner time. At that point, the boys (namely Yusuke and Kuwabara) began pounding on the door. "Come on, you guys. It's dinner. We're hungry." Keiko's fists clenched at the demanding tone to her boyfriend's voice.

"Oh, Yusuke… QUIET!" She stood up and opened the door, glaring at Yusuke who wisely had decided to cower behind Kuwabara. "We'll eat when Kagome says so. It's her house, and you should get no say in anything, seeing as how you're the reason we're all here." She turned to Kagome and smiled politely. "Would it be too much trouble to ask you to help us find something to eat?"

Grinning because Keiko sounded so much like Sango, Kagome shook her head. "Not at all. Although I hope you like Ramen, that's all I have." Turned out that ramen was fine with everyone, so Kagome started making lots of it. Soon, the smell of ramen filled the whole house… and the well house too.

"Oi, wench. What's with all the…" InuYasha's voice trailed off as he walked into the kitchen. Everyone froze as the dog demon entered the kitchen. Kagome sighed and waited for the inevitable outburst. "WHO THE HELL ARE THEY?"

"SIT!" Kagome yelled, causing InuYasha to go crashing to the floor. "These are my guests, InuYasha. They're staying with me for a few weeks while their school is rebuilt. Please, be civil, because you aren't even supposed to be here. I told you I wasn't going to be back for a while, you said that was fine. So, let me ask you, WHY ARE YOU HERE?"

InuYasha, now able to stand up, glared at Kagome. "Jeez, wench. I just came to see if you'd let me take some ramen back. We ran out. But if they're staying, I'm staying."

Kagome dropped her chin to her chest and put a hand on her forehead. "Fine. Sit down, I'll make you some ramen."

InuYasha sat down next to Keiko, directly across from Kurama. He stared at the kitsune across the table, glaring in a threatening manner. Kurama's normally green eyes started to slide to gold, and InuYasha fell off his chair. "Who are you?"

"Kurama."

"As in, Youko Kurama?"

"Yes."

"Ai… Kagome, how did HE end up here?"

Kagome, in the middle of making InuYasha's ramen, turned to look at Kurama. Then she looked blankly at InuYasha. "You know him?"

InuYasha snorted. "This is the great thief, Youko Kurama. You've never read about this kitsune in that school of yours?"

Kagome though for a minute, then her eyes widened. "Oh, Kami-sama… you're him?" At Kurama's nod, she glomped him. "You're so cool! And from the pictures, Youko's really hot too!" She stepped back. "Why don't you look like him? I mean, you're cute. But you aren't seven feet tall and you don't have the ears…"

Kurama scratched the back of his head. "That's a long story…"

A/N: See? I added Inu. And ok, so I lied. She'll probe them soon, though. And you'll see. Interesting things will happen…


	3. There'll Be Hell To Pay

No Matter What They Tell Us 

Disclaimer: I don't own them. Fluffy owns me, and he forces me to write. Everyone, you have Fluffy to thank if you like my chapters. Don't sue.

A/N: Ok, I'm having fun with this story. So, after I answer my reviews, I will write. Also: in case I confuzzled anyone, this IS going to have moments of Hiei/Kurama. Not a full blown relationship, per say, but moments. Just like the show, only fluffier! All flames will be used for aforementioned bonfire. Please, review!

Foxtar2k2: Mmmk. I'm glad you liked my story! Keep reading!

Jessica: Nice to get criticism like that! I'm trying, but if they get too long then I get bored and don't do anything for a long time. It's sorta a compromise thingy.

Apri-Chan: Well, yeah. She glomped him. And pissed off Inu. And I agree. Youko is so freaking good looking… sorta like Kirara. You want to hug him but he'd kill you. Very hot, though. Beautifully deadly fits too, I guess.

Daisuke: I'm glad you like my writing so much that you think I should do it professionally. I do write with my own characters other times too. I'm glad you like my stuff!

Kagome015: Here you go!

Korokochan16: Nope. Kagome/InuYasha and Hiei/Kurama. It's kinda confusing at first.

Starflower-Gem: Here's a chapter! Hope you enjoy!

Chapter Three: There'll Be Hell To Pay

InuYasha growled quietly throughout the whole meal. It was obvious that he'd disliked watching Kagome glomp Kurama. Because he had respect for the fox demon (who had, after all, been around during the feudal age), he refrained from beating him up (he also refrained cause he knew he'd get whipped). However, he was still sullen about Kagome not telling him she was going to have a bunch of demons staying in her house.

After dinner, the guys picked out a movie to watch, and everyone settled down in the living room. Of course, no movie night would be complete without popcorn, so Kagome missed the opening previews while she popped some. When she arrived triumphantly in the living room with two big bowls of popcorn, she realized there was nowhere to sit. Kurama and Boton were sitting on the loveseat with Hiei perched on the arm next to Kurama. Yusuke was sitting in the armchair and had somehow managed to convince Keiko to sit on his lap. Kuwabara and Yukina were propped against the sideboard with a blanket. InuYasha was sitting cross-legged on the floor next to Botan's side of the couch.

"Ummm… Hey, Boton, could you move over a little?" Boton scooted over towards the arm of the couch, leaving a tiny amount of room for Kagome next to Kurama. InuYasha frowned. Putting up with an incredibly powerful demon was one thing. Letting Kagome anywhere near him, however, was a different matter.

"Here." Kagome gasped when she was suddenly jerked towards the floor. InuYasha settled her on his lap like he did sometimes when they had to sleep in trees, wrapping his coat around her. Kagome blushed, keeping her eyes down to avoid the amused looks Boton and Kurama were shooting her way.

"Eh, thanks, Inuyasha."

"Keh. There was nowhere else to sit, wench." That was the wrong thing to say. All the girls (minus Yukina), as well as Yusuke, winced.

"IDIOT! There's room on the couch." Kagome jerked out of InuYasha's grip. "SIT! Kurama, is there room enough for me?" At Kurama's nod, she stepped over the now prone InuYasha and settled in between Kurama and Boton with a bowl of popcorn on her lap.

By the time the movie ended (although many people were lost, having missed the first several minutes due to the fighting), Keiko, Yukina, and Kagome had all fallen asleep. Kuwabara and Yusuke looked like they didn't quite know what to do with the girls leaning against them. Hiei and Kurama had already gone back to the shrine house, which left three guys and a girl to get all the others into bed.

InuYasha snorted. "Feh. Give me the other one staying in Kagome's room. I can carry them both."

Yusuke bristled. "Let you carry Keiko? How do I know you aren't going to kill her?"

"Because, idiot, do you see Kagome letting me anywhere near anyone she thought I'd kill?"

Yusuke blushed. "Well, no… Ok. Take her." InuYasha stood, carefully plucking (A/N: I love that verb. Sounds like she's a chicken!) Kagome off of the couch and hoisting up Keiko as well.

"Do you think that you three can get the other one back to her room?"

Boton nodded cheerfully. "Yup! See you tomorrow!"

InuYasha climbed the stairs to Kagome's room, put both girls in their respective beds, and then curled up in the open window. There was no way he was not keeping watch over Kagome when there were this many strange demons in the house.

"LET GO OF ME!"

"NOT UNTIL YOU TELL ME WHAT YOU'RE DOING HERE!"

Kagome was awakened from pleasant dreams by shouting outside her window. She stumbled across her room and leaned out to see… InuYasha holding a toddler?

"Kagome!" She looked down. The exchange students had gathered below the fight (InuYasha was on a tree branch) and Kurama was trying to get her attention.

"Yeah?" She yawned as she said it. It was too early for InuYasha's paranoia.

"Get your friend to release Koenma. If he doesn't, there will be hell to pay…"

"Sure. INUYASHA!" InuYasha turned and looked at Kagome, loosening his grip on the child.

"What, wench?"

"Sit." Yawning, Kagome made her way down the stairs and out onto her lawn. She knelt down by InuYasha, who was still on the ground. "Sorry. I think that thing gets more powerful every time I use it."

"Then maybe stop using it so much?" InuYasha muttered under his breath as he pushed himself up into a sitting position. Meanwhile, the guests had gathered around Koenma. Kagome tuned back in on the conversation and heard something slightly surprising.

"WHAT DO YOU MEAN YOU HAVE NEVER HEARD OF THE SHIKON JEWEL?"

Hiei grunted. "Of course we have heard of it. The jewel gives the bearer almost unimaginable power."

Kagome, who had sort of inched her way into the little group, spoke up. "So, what kind of power would a quarter of the jewel bring?"

"No demon has ever had that much. Not since it was broken, at least. Why?" Suddenly, all eyes were on Kagome.

"Maybe no demon has had that much, but, um…" She pulled the shard-necklace out from under her pjs. "I collected that many."

You could have heard a pin drop. It was almost spooky how quiet it had gotten.

Koenma started spluttering unintelligibly, and this continued until Botan clapped her hand over his mouth. Kurama took over.

"What Koenma means is, how did you get those?"

Kagome, very red in the face, mumbled something. When she realized that nobody could hear her, she sighed and repeated herself. "I shattered it, alright? I was trying to get it back from a demon crow and my arrow broke it into a whole lot of pieces, and so now I'm trying to find them all. And you were wrong. Naraku has pretty much the rest of it, and he's a half demon."

Koenma had stopped mouthing things. He popped into teenager form and tilted his head. "Well, that explains a lot. Yes, that explains everything!"

Yusuke ran a hand through his already messy hair, voicing the thought they were all thinking. "What are you talking about?"

Koenma smiled. "Be politer, Yusuke. You're going to have to work with this girl."

"What?"

"Team, say hello to the Feudal Era's spirit detective."

A/N: Cliffy! Well, sorta. It's going to get fascinating later. I promise, one more before midnight Xmas day. It'll be my gift to you. And yes, I wanted this chapter to be longer, but I have a HUGE chapter planned for the next one, and it'll work better if it all goes in one chapter.


	4. Testing, Testing, One Two Three

Disclaimer: See all the other chapters.

A/N: Well, see, the devil called me yesterday (yes, I'm on speaking terms with Satan, his name is Forrest and he's one of my best friends) and said something about a politician telling the truth, so hell had frozen over, and why didn't I update while the condition lasted? Oddly enough, I've had this one written for a while. I just never got around toposting it. Sorry. Umm... Anyhow, a Christmas present for you all (since I think I haven't updated this since before last Christmas). And for the record: I didn't say which Christmas Day! Heh, yeah, I know. Anyhow...

**Testing, Testing, One Two Three**

"Spirit detective?" Kagome's voice was puzzled.

"It's like... law enforcement for demons," Koenma began, but he was cut off by Yusuke.

"Wait. I only got to be one after I died. How'd she get the job?"

Koenma thought for a minute. "Well, in the Feudal Era, she is dead. That is, she hasn't been born so she doesn't exist. Plus she's a reincarnation..."

Inuyasha, who'd been involved in a staring contest with Hiei (Hiei was winning), turned to Koenma. "Now, look, baby..."

"Excuse me." Kagome brushed past him. "I need to finish getting ready for school." She went back into the house. Inuyasha, with an impatient look in her direction, went back to yelling at Koenma. Keiko, though, followed her in concern.

She found Kagome sitting on the stairs, head in her hands. "Kagome, are you alright?"

Kagome looked up and smiled sadly. "I guess I was just hoping that whatever this thing was, it had nothing to do with Kikyou."

"Kikyou?"

"Remember how I said you were lucky that Yusuke wasn't in love with a reanimated dead girlfriend?" Keiko nodded. "Well, Inuyasha has Kikyou. Even though she's dead, he can't get over her long enough to see that I'm in love with him. And to make it worse, some witch brought her body back to life and it ended up with just enough of the soul we share that she's walking around trying to get him to come to hell with her."

"Wow, and I thought I had it bad." Keiko smiled. "Come on. School day, remember?"

"Ok, class. We have some temporary students here. Their school is the one that was recently damaged in the gas explosion, so they'll be having class with us." The teacher gestured Kurama, Yusuke, Keiko, Botan, and Kuwabara forward to empty seats.

At first, there was general male interest in Keiko, Botan, and Kurama. Then it was discovered that Kurama was, in fact, a boy, and a group of girls started a Kurama fan club. Yusuke discouraged interest in Keiko with death glares, so in the end, Botan was the only girl to gain a large group of smitten followers. Kagome instantly became the most popular girl in class; all the guys wanted introductions to Botan and all the girls wanted introductions to Kurama.

She ate lunch with them, and they teased and harassed each other until Kagome couldn't stop laughing. For someone who hadn't really gone to school in months, this was wonderful. By the end of the day she'd forgotten all about being a spirit detective, Kikyou, and the jewel.

Of course, when she got back to the shrine, the small child (apparently some sort of interdimensional boss) reminded her.

"I need to test to see how powerful you are."

"No 'Hello, how was your day?'" Kagome dumped her backpack on her bed. He was outside her window again.

"No. It's imperative that we find out how powerful you are."

She glared at Koenma, hands on her hips. "I won't do anything until I get to test the demons."

He rolled his eyes. "Fine. Come outside when you're ready."

"Will this hurt?" Yukina had volunteered to go first, and, after much arguing, Hiei was letting her.

Kagome frowned. "According to my teacher, no. Then again, Inuyasha wouldn't let me practice on him, so I can't be sure."

"I trust you." Yukina's quiet voice cut off any protests Hiei would have made. "What do you want me to do?"

"Just sit still, please." Kagome raised one hand and placed it, palm forward, about an inch from Yukina's heart. Her other hand mimicked it, hovering over her forehead. Concentrating the way Kaede had taught her, her hands began to glow pink, and then...

She wasn't sitting anymore. She was standing in a blizzard, being buffeted by snow.

She could see Yukina sitting in front of her, in the same position she'd been when they'd begun this. Kagome opened her mouth, but the words that came out where not hers.

"Greetings, young one."

Yukina smiled serenely up at her. "Hello. May I inquire as to who you are?"

"My name is Midoriko. My heart and soul became the Shikon Jewel, so when Kagome purified parts of it, I became once more alive, for lack of a better term." It was Kagome's voice, but it was full of a wisdom gained over many years of study. Kagome's body took a step forward and knelt before Yukina. "I can see that you will be of great service to my bearer. But oh, young one, what suffering you've been through. Will you permit me to assist with your problem? As a payment for services you will provide."

"You may."

Kagome's hands arranged themselves the way they had been at the beginning. Her hands glowed again, and a silver chain appeared around Yukina's neck. From it hung a large blue jewel that shone faintly.

"As long as you wear that," said Midoriko, "It will store the energy your body usually uses to make jewels of your tears. Only you can remove it of your own free will, so you have control of it. It'll keep that power until it's needed, and then you or someone else can draw on it. Do not use it lightly; your brother will have need of it one day."

Before she could blink, Kagome was thrown out of Yukina's mind, back into her own body. She ended up lying on her back, hands blue and painfully cold.

Inuyasha, of course, went ballistic. "What did you do to her?" He glared at Yukina.

Kagome frowned and sat up gingerly. "She didn't do anything. It's not her fault her mind is full of snow."

Yukina leaned forwards. "Here, allow me." Her hands covered Kagome's, and when Kagome pulled hers back, they were normal again. Kagome smiled and clapped her hands together.

"Ok, who's next?"

Hiei stepped (or was pushed by Kurama) forward. Glaring at his fox friend, he came to stand in front of Kagome. "Get it over with, girl."

"No need to be so testy." Kagome raised her hands again and found herself in a totally black environment. Black as in, pitch black. Though it was oppressively warm, Kagome couldn't actually see anything.

"So, what exactly did you do to..." Hiei's voice drifted ominously out of the darkness, but Midoriko cut him off.

"Your sister? I did nothing, except provide the means for her to be able to cry without fear."

And then Kagome could see him, sitting on a rock five feet or so ahead of her.

"Well, have you seen enough, girl?"

"Girl?" Kagome felt herself throw back her head and laugh. "I haven't been a girl in many years. Child, I would have thought you were smarter than that. I am no more Kagome than Kurama is Youko.:

He glared, then spoke in a voice dripping with sarcasm. "I know who you are. Are we finished, or do I need to jump through a flaming hoop first?"

"Will you allow me to grant you payment for the aid you will give my bearer?"

"What exactly does that entail?" Hiei was suspicious. He'd seen the dog demon's "collar".

"Freedom from the physical weakness of your third eye. I can move it to another plane, directly overlaid with your body so it functions as always, without actually being on you."

"I think I'll pass."

"Very well." And Kagome found herself thrown out of Hiei's mind as well.

"Inuyasha, SIT." Kagome's instincts had been right. Inuyasha was lunging for Hiei. When he went crashing to the ground, Kagome moved to kneel next to his head.

"You don't get to keep attacking my friends, Inuyasha."

"Well, you shouldn't let them stay here."

"I'm not going to kick them out because you don't like it. Deal with it."

He frowned, but seemed to get the message. Kagome turned to Kurama. "Do you mind?"

He smiled in a way that made Inuyasha's teeth clench. "Not at all." Kagome lifted her hands again and was suddenly in Kurama's mind.

It was split down the middle. The left side was a lush jungle, full of exotic plants. The right was a well tended garden. In the middle, standing on either side of the border (which was formed by a wide, fast moving river), were Kurama and someone who could only be Youko. He was tall, with long silver hair, gold eyes, and a silver tail.

Kagome waited for Midoriko to begin, and it wasn't a long wait.

"You both realize that this is REALLY bad for your sanity, right?"

Kurama nodded, but Youko wasn't so kind. "Of course, girl. If you have nothing more to say, remove yourself from our mind before I kill you."

Midoriko laughed. "I remember you. Trust me, fox, you don't want to try that. Now," she turned to Kurama, "you will be little use to my bearer as you are now. Your magic is powerful, yes, and quite adequate for this era, but as he can tell you, nothing to that of say, the demon lord Sesshomaru. Will you accept my help in payment for the help you will provide?"

Kurama bowed. "I would be honored."

Midoriko cast a glance at Youko. "You'd do well to take manners lessons from this one. It's easier to steal things if people trust you, you know." She shrugged. "Oh well. Well, I can only do one thing for you." Kagome's right hand came up and traced a line from right to left and back again. There was a flash of light, and when it faded there was a wide bridge arching high over the water. "You can now access Youko's memories and his powers. In a way, you're one again. Be prepared for the potential ramifications, thought. Unless you're careful, he can use you as well, and so you might start to pick up some of his more... endearing personality traits." Kagome bowed low, and then she was back in her own body at the shrine.

A/N: Happy Holidays, Merry Christmas, whatever floats your boat! Review, please.


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